Final Fantasy: Greek Mythology
by animefreak1457
Summary: AU. Yuffie Kisaragi never liked English class since her middle name derived from a Greek goddess's name. She never spoke anything about it until the new English teacher holds interest in her: dark, broody, sadistic, wait. Oh f-
1. Prologue

**A.N.: I decided to combine two stories, but it's still modern time. I was rereading my Greek mythology book from high school, and I thought where Final Fantasy VII should be in the mythology. Then, this popped up, and I was going nuts on this. Well, I have one shots coming up, and I blame plot bunnies and digging old stuff from the grave at fault.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or the Greek mythology stuff, and this will be the only disclaimer throughout the story.**

**WARNING: Lots of swearing/cussing/foul language from Yuffie's potty-mouth, and probably hot and heavy stuff in the future. Read on your own risk.**

Prologue

I really hate my middle name, you know? It's sort of ridiculous to have my first name in Wutainese then to have a complete different middle name from outside of my home. I think my mom adored the middle name and kept on calling me by that name since I was little. My dad would just call me by my first name unless he is pissed and called me by my full name. Really. It's just scary to have your parents call out your full name, and you know you are in the deep part of shit-ness.

How did I get my middle name? Well, let's start to the beginning when my parents first met. My mom was from the southern part of Wutai, where the western influence converted many of the people to their ways of living. My dad is from the North where tradition is still held up, but they both fell in love in a strange predicament. Well, their personalities were opposites, but they did fall in love and poof! I'm here! Well… that's not the whole story, and I am not going to go farther. It's gross in explaining how your parents procreate, and I pop out of my mom during intense labor. Still, I can tell you that I had a good laugh when my mom explained to me how the labor went through. It went somewhere like this: "GODO! I SWEAR TO THE GODS, GET YOUR ROYAL STUCK UP ASS RIGHT HERE BEFORE I DECIDE TO SHOVE MY KUNAI UP YOUR- ARGH!"

… Yup. I love my mom, and you'll love her too.

Anyways, the reason I hated my middle name is because I couldn't even make friends since I was a kid. They keep on referring to me as a half-a-nese or "The Dark Lord's Lover." I get the half-a-nese part, even though I was full Wutainese, but "The Dark Lord's Lover" part was just bullshit. At first, I never got it until I got to high school and studied a part of mythology class. Persephone was the daughter of the goddess Demeter, and she was known to be the wife of the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. The myth says that he kidnapped her because of her innocence and kindness, and her mother took away the world's blessing of fertility and nature. Everything went to hell when her uncle, the Almighty Zeus, decided to confront the Lord of the Underworld and try to get him to return Persephone back to her mother. Of course, he did, but not until Hades gave Persephone six pomegranate seeds, meaning six months on each side.

That was when I realized that the meaning behind "The Dark Lord's Lover" meant that they made up the fact that I was cursed. Therefore, they thought I was a fucked up incest love child.

Then, I began to put all my frustrations on the punching bag at home. I was seething in rage when I knew that they were referring to me from a damn Greek mythology that died out a long time ago. No wonder why they all made fun of me; they called me a curse and all the voodoo crap. They called me the little fucked up girl that no one wanted to play with. I had crushed on some guys or fall deeply in love, but most of the guys in my life are douche bags and assholes because of that false rumor. I screamed and cried because they were all bastards, and I tried to be nice. But no. They had to shut me away because of my middle name, and I would have tied them up and hang them on the mountain if my dad forbad me to use my skills on them. Damn my dad for forbidding me to use my ninja skills on them unless they were emergencies. He would have shoved me into my room with bars and attack-proof steel if I were to use them.

Thank gods high school was the new start of my life, and no one would call you by the middle name unless you're just asking for it.

So overall, I hate my middle name and start my third year in high school that involves getting my ass into classes in order to up my grades.

I was above average on every subject and would have gotten into a university…

…if it weren't the case that I sucked on English.

Do you know that English was the bane of my existence?

God, that was the only subject that kept me away from getting into a university and away from my overbearing dad. I had tutors he hires, and I got an average grade on all of them. My English teacher, who is fucking ancient, decided to point out the mistakes on every paper. I think the old hag, who was teaching English from freshman to senior year, hates me when I entered her class. No wait. I think it was that time I placed a whoopee cushion on her seat when she was away from class. I think she hated me at that time and made my life a living hell. I was barely passing with C's on every assignment, and I was always in deep shit when I moved an inch on my seat. I dreaded every year when English class was around the corner, and I prayed to the gods that the old coot would retire because I was stressing so much, even after my last two years ended with a passing.

I think they answered my prayers when everyone heard about the old lady's retirement. There was supposed to be a new teacher who would be teaching English, and I heard, from the girls, that he was a hottie and mysterious. I think they were talking about him being dark and unconcerned as long as he was teaching. I thought he was going to be easy on me and inwardly cheered at the idea until a new teacher for English was rumored to be more ruthless and uncompassionate. The next factor is that he will be teaching every class with no mercy.

That was when my first thought was "Fuck my life."

My mom smacked me on the back of my head when I said it out loud.

Oh yeah. Didn't I mention that I have a baby brother now? His name is Ryuu "Triptolemus" Kisaragi. Mom named him.


	2. Mommy Gave Birth to Me, so Deal with It

Chapter 1: Mommy Gave Birth to Me, so Deal with It

Sweet, sweet dark warmth. Oh how I love thee. Sleep beckons me to eternal bliss without disturbance. I know that I should wake up to reality, but please. I like five more minutes because I have been staying up on my computer. It is addicting after playing ten minutes turning into six hours, and it was a part of my daily life. Well, summer was going to be over, and I dread going to school to see the teachers. The only good part was that I get to hang out with two of my best girl friends and one boy friend. Note the separation of girl and boy friend.

"Rise and shine, honey!"

Mom, I love you, but please…

ENOUGH WITH THE WAKE UP CALL!

"WAAAAH!" I screamed and fell off the bed when the sounds of clanking echoed in my room. I groaned and looked up to the doorframe where my mom was holding a ladle on one hand and a frying pan on the other. Our neighbors continued commenting me that I look like my mother when she was also at my age. The only difference is that I kept my hair short and had my bandana wrapped around my head like a ninja. My mom keeps her status as a ninja, like my dad, a secret. I guess the family tree had full of ninjas from birth to old age. My three year old baby brother was clinging onto her on the leg like I used to, and he gave me the most adorable laugh.

"Morning, Persey! Wakey, wakey! You got school starting soon!" I winced when she used my baby nickname.

"Morning, mom." Ryuu released my mom's leg and stumbled up to me as his tiny feet can go. He went to my side and land-hugged me on the back. His goofy grin appeared, and I didn't mind that he just body-slammed me on the back. His smile came from my mother, and I had my mom's smile as well.

"Mo'win' Yu-shan!" I turned to lie on my back and gave him the biggest hug, rubbing my cheek against his soft hair. He was also like me, but he had this charisma surrounding him. His hair was still short and soft, but I can see that his hair was sticking everywhere. Mom and I gave up trying to put it down or gel it up because his hair was courser like dad's hair. His attire was still like a baby, except that he wore the black shorts and a white Wutainese long sleeved shirt.

"Morning, Ryuu! Yu-shan is awake and needs to get up! Go back to mommy!" Ryuu giggled and pitter-pattered toward mom. There are many reasons why Ryuu is loved; he already had the whole high school to his whims. One time, he had his first errand in high school and delivered my lunch because I forgot it at home. It was sophomore year at that time, and I think he motivated the Juniors to study harder. He wanted to be responsible, to be protective, and to be brave like me, except that he had the adorable charm in him that everyone lost on purpose. Seeing him being picked up by my mom, she just smiled and left me to my own devices.

My room was clean after the spring-cleaning, but I do have a whole bunch of clothes all over my room. It was supposed to be a simple room: bed, desk, wardrobe, vanity mirror, window, bookcase, and a computer. However, I decorated my room with clothes thrown haphazardly around. My mom gave up telling me to clean up when I said that my room feels like an isolation room, and my dad pretty much blew up a gasket when he saw how my socks were hanging over my lamp.

I decided to get up after a few seconds of cursing and bitching about early mornings, but I would never say it out loud. Mom and I made a vow to never swear until my brother is at least sixteen or at least away from his hearing range. I grabbed my uniform that was hung up on the door and began struggling with the damn blue skirt and blue and white blouse. A red bow was already tied under the blue collar, and I think my mom wanted me to keep myself tidy.

What were you thinking? Yes, I go to a private school. My dad is an ambassador in a different country, yet my mom prefers a normal house. We do have maids around, but it was usually three of them and their arrival around certain times since it involves taking my brother, helping my mother, and making me behave. Right now, we have one in the kitchen and one in the garden. Oh, and we have a garden in the backyard, and we mostly spent our free time tending the flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Mom got bored while I was in her and decided to have homegrown plants since my dad refuses to let her do work. It helps her run off the remaining fat in her and teaches us to learn to respect life.

"I'm going mom!" I shouted as I got everything to prep up for school. Just before I could jump down the stairs, I froze and stopped, backing away when a kunai suddenly flew where half of my face would be. I knew this was going to happen and glared at the maternal leader, who was coddling my baby brother innocently. She does this every time; I know. Was there a thing called normality?

"Okay! Okay! I'll just walk down normally and have Miss Yoshimaru drive me to school." She turned and smiled, waving so sweetly.

"Take care, Persey! I love you!"

I love and hate you, too. You are the most evil woman who gave birth to a hellion like me. I hope Ryuu give you hell. Heeheehee…

* * *

><p>Edge High School had its ups and downs as we go through life. Basically, it's whether you love it or hate it: simply black and white. The populace of students is around eight hundred divided by four, so you either get more or less than two hundred students in each year.<p>

Oh, and did you know that instead of grouping people in sections, we group how each yearly student acts? Freshmen were known to be hyper with a lot of sugar consumed. Gods, we thought they were on something until we found candy wrappers in lockers and ants crawling around the place. It was scary, and I, even though I tend to be hyper and pull the pranks, know better than to go between freshmen and their sugar indulgence. I've been through that phase.

Sophomores were considered to be… dramatic. It was first puberty, then growth spurts, then hormone rage, and then all the drama my mom watched during her pregnancy with Ryuu. I would have bought popcorn and bid on who would win, lose, or get socked in the face, but school forbid food inside of classrooms and gambling. I had my fair share of drama, but that was in the past. I think my two best friends were the ones who did the beating during my horrible breakup with my ex-boyfriend.

Right now, we were in Junior year, and we are worried about grades. This is the stress phase were now our asses are in the line to past the tests in order to get into college slash university. We heard that books will be stacked mountain high, and papers will be thrown everywhere with both notes and previous tests. Homework will triple in quantity, and there will be days, or even weeks, that will give you hell. Fuck, I had issues with English until the old hag retired. I was happy when she did, but now I was wishing that the old hag had stayed. I mean, everyone was stressing and freaking, and I was also freaking out. Well… in the future, we _will_ freak out.

Senior year was just next year, and it was getting into college stress. I have heard the homework and projects will lessen, but still, it is hard to get into colleges with the amount of grade point averages. We'll get to that point later. Right now, we have to focus on Junior year.

"Yuffie! I am so happy we found you!" I turned to meet two of my best friends and grinned. Tifa Lockhart and Aeirth Gainsborough rushed up to me, and we ran-hug each other until their body weights overpowered mine and slammed me to the ground.

We have been childhood friends since we were babies, but we had to go to different schools. I was away from most of the time, and whenever we cross each other's paths, we spent our time in the playground until our parents found us at the evening. When high school acceptance was coming around, I wanted to go to the same high school with them and had a lot of arguments with my dad. He wanted me to go somewhere far away, but I refused and said that going away from my friends is like living with the hellish middle school life. I defied him so many times that it got to the point that he conceded for the sake of my mother's stress. Our arguments made her ill with stress, and we almost lost Ryuu because of our stubbornness. Tifa and Aerith were with me during my mother's surgery, and I held them like they were my last line.

Tifa was the most sought out girl in the class, but she was very hard to date since she took martial arts and boxing. Her figure surpassed every girl's standards, and her attitude was that of a mother since she lost her mother at a young age. Most of the guys were after her physical figure, but they all ended up having their asses kicked. She was supposed to be dating this guy name Cloud Strife, but he was like… what? Three years older than her? Don't get me wrong; I would approve their relationship if it weren't for the law saying that at the age of eighteen you cannot date anyone under your age, or you would be labeled as a child molester.

I say that this was the stupidest law I have ever heard. I mean, they are close around the age for all that is holy! He's not like he's ten years older than her! He's in college or wherever he is! Fuck, the law's messed.

Aerith is also in the same situation. She was very kind and would give you the most support that you would have cried for her kindness. I once bowed to her for being the most epic lifesaver when I was in a pinch on studying for Algebra two. I had no problem with math, but that was one time I forgot to study because my baby brother was sick. She brought in dear Marlene to take care of Ryuu, and her adopted parents, Elmrya and Barret, had no problem with letting them come over. Besides, Ryuu was literally the adorable baby of the family, and he has four older sisters to coddle him. Aerith was dating Zack Fair, and I think he was going to take over his adopted father's business in metal smithing. My parents were regular customers in his shop for weapons, both training and real life, and I knew both the father and son. He is like an older brother to me, except that he's four years older than us.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Yuffie?" My musing popped like a balloon, and I focused on two of my friends.<p>

"What?" I replied. They had this silly grin on their faces, and I wanted to run. I always questioned on why are we friends every single day, but I always had this shit-eating face before pillows would catapult straight to my face.

"Do you think you'd be dating Reno during this year? We have to get dates before the upcoming dance around a month." I gave out this ultimate glare straight at them before they began giggling like morons. Reno and I have been going out, but they were just friendly hangouts. I see him more as a mischievous sidekick of a brother, and our personality was too similar. I swore that he was my missing twin, and the gods decided to separate us because two chaotic children of the same age and birth mother would end the world. Besides, I have seen him hang out with Elena and Rude more than me, and I do miss him since we have less contact.

"Knock it off, guys! You know that I see him as a brother than boyfriend material! Besides, he's a man whore if you remember!"

"Aw! But I wanna hang out with you more!" My shit-eating grin was back, and I side-glance at the said person.

"Say to the person who ditched me to my own devices during the stink bomb fiascos." Reno made a dramatic "shot in the heart" pose, and our dear friend, Elena, smacked him upside of the head. Gotta love that blond. Rude was standing beside them, and he was a senior of course. I need to remind myself to ask him how is Senior year later; we need to prep up for the ultimate drama.

"We passed the drama phase last year, Reno. Get your act together since we are going to deal with college tests." Elena's nose scrunched up and made a sour face.

"I hate those tests. The PSAT was a pain in the ass since there was absolutely no direction until our sophomore year." I groaned. She just had to remind me.

"Let's not talk about that. I still have nightmares from Mrs. Helga's class, especially during my summer break." Tifa patted my head in reassurance.

"Just be glad that she retired. She was getting too old on dealing with us." I dully glared at Tifa.

"Did you not remember the rumor about Mrs. Helga's class and her teachings? When you go there, she will haunt you in both reality and in dreams. I thought I failed her class during one of my dreams! It was fucked up!" Everyone, except Rude, busted at gut after my exclamation. It's good to have _real_ friends.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Reno recovered from his laughter and got everyone's attention. "Did you hear anything about new teacher? I heard that he's merciless." I think I froze. Great. Another Mrs. Helga, except it's Mr. Helga.

Aerith pondered for a bit and frowned.

"From what I heard, he does not tolerate lateness or interruption in class. He's young, graduated at the young age, and does not like to socialize with the staff. However, he is a great teacher and makes English understandable." She tilted her head and looked at Tifa.

"He sounds familiar. Tifa, do you remember who it- Tifa?" We all turned to the frozen girl, and she looked pale. I think we triggered something that equals to drama time.

"A-Are you kidding me?" She moaned, and I held her by the arm.

"Teefs? Hey, Boobs! Are you alright?" She didn't say anything but pointed where the gates were. We all turned to see a black, expensive looking car parked in front of it. I think it was a chauffer who opened the back of the door, and now many of the students were swarming the gates. It was later that many of the population were girls screaming, and I think it hurts to listen to them. Whoever they were screaming at, he must have reached to the point of hotness.

Basically, I didn't care and asked Tifa. She was freaking me out.

"Gaia to Tifa! Dammit! Wake up! Who just came in and made you freak out?" I was afraid that she went to a catatonic state at an early age, and I needed her to wake up! Just as I asked that question, the teacher was walking away from the group of students and up to us.

He seemed to be no older than us but had this professionalism aura around him. His ebony hair was long and tied to a low ponytail that contrasted against his pale skin, and he was wearing a dark red suit for one of those classy teachers. What was surprising that his eyes were similar color as Tifa's. Only that they were bright crimson, while Tifa's eyes were wine crimson. He had this ghost of a smile and waved to her.

"Hello dear sister." Her mouth was shut in a firm line, and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Hi, Vincent. Here to make a living hell?" Whoa! Back up! Tifa had an older brother? What kind of sibling rivalry is this?

"You know this guy?" I shouted and looked at Vincent. His eyes were staring at me and gleamed with this amusement. He bowed to us and introduced himself, and what was creepy is that his eyes never left mine.

"I am Vincent Valentine. Tifa Lockhart is my sister, and I am the new English teacher. I am looking forward to teaching you all. Now, excuse me. I have to prepare the class before the bell rings." With that, he stood up and walked away from us. His eyes never left contact with mine until I couldn't see him, and I had shivers up my spine. What the hell was that all about?

"Tifa? What was that all about?" Instead of getting an answer, I was grabbed and spun to see a warning glare from the said girl.

"Yuffie, whatever you do. Do not cross or come in contact with my half brother. I know him since he came into my life before I started high school, and I'm telling you to stay away from him." I gulped.

"Tifa?" Everyone was gathering around her to place understanding judgment through pats and concerned looks toward me. Their eyes were not of worry to Tifa but of worry to me. What is going on?

"You have to promise me." She hissed, and I jumped. I have not heard anything about Tifa's new behavior, and if she were telling the truth about our new teacher, then I would have to be aware about this Vincent guy. Brother or not, she seemed to hate him with passion, and I am not going to cross either of them.

"P-Promise." When I said that, I made a list in my head about this Vincent guy.

Let's see. Dark. Check. Broody. Check. Sadistic. Mega check.

Man, shoot me on the foot with a shotgun. I think my ass is in the line.


	3. Stupid Crimson Eyes, Quit Looking at Me

Chapter 2: Stupid Crimson Eyes, Quit Looking at Me

My first day of Junior year sucked as hell. I wanted to get the green sheets, called a syllabus, over with, but instead, we got homework for the first day. I kid you not. If the Seniors lied about having your stress mode shoot up on the middle of the year is hell, then they are fucking lying bastards that need to have a boot up their asses. Mrs. Helga was merciful on some point, and goddamn Mr. Valentine started our living hell on the first day of English class. Our first homework was reading a Greek mythology on the first chapters. When I mean first chapters, I mean three fucking long boring ass chapters that would be discussed tomorrow. Tifa wasn't kidding when she said her brother was an asshole; he had this nonchalant expression and had his own syllabus that was basically fucked up. There was the schedule on the back, but instead of having homework on some days, he basically had us do homework on the school days off. He was pretty much fucked up when he was a kid, was he? If this was the cause of having bitter sibling relationships, then I am gonna make sure my baby brother is going to have all the love from me. I am _not_ fucking this relationship up.

"How was English class?" I groaned at Aerith's question and rolled my face on the grass. Aerith and I were done for the day, but Tifa had to teach the self-defense club. Everyone else was either hanging out somewhere or taking their sweet time to get to the shady trees. It was the early end school since it was the first day, but it feels like I am still living in a hellhole in Mrs. Helga's room. This time, Mr. Valentine has upped the ante, and this means that I'm gonna get fucked sideways.

"Please, don't ask. I had Mr-Freakin'-Valentine call out my full name. I think he's doing this to spite everyone, and he embarrassed almost three fourths of the class." I still remembered how he called out my full name.

_Yuffie "Persephone" Kisaragi_.

God, I hate my middle name, and what was worse is that he was delighted to call out my middle name every single fucking time. Fucking creepy to start off. I shivered at his penetrating stare and that smirk; I know he was up to no good. I think he knows about my previous pranks on Mrs. Helga, and I am beginning to believe that half of the staff in this school hates me. Gods, Tifa, when you hand that guy's ass to the other side, I will worship you forever and ever, and I will make a shrine out of you in my closet. Well, not in the closet, but I will serve you as your personal maid!

"I… don't think he's that bad." I snapped my attention up and gaped at my innocent looking friend. Sweet Aerith has to be joking. Of course, she does become optimistic and tries to look at the good sides of people. That is her, and that's why we all love her. Me? I have my own opinion.

"Aerith, you do not know how right Tifa is. It's like he has this innocent side that is so freakin' fake, and I know how these masks are. I mean, I wore them the whole freakin' time, and I should get paid for this!" I groaned and rolled my back onto the grass. It was nice to lie on the grass and just forget everything around you. Besides the point where my baby brother needs me, all the stress was getting to my head, and I better not find a damn white hair on my cranium. If that happens, then my dad sends me to see a therapist, who I basically scared her away that one time. It was funny.

"You might have seen his mask wrong. There might be a possibility that he's wearing them in a different way." I rolled my eyes, feeling drowsy for a bit.

"Yeah, but if he's not showing it, then he's very good in hiding." I yawned. Wow, first day of school does drain me a lot, and the breeze… feels… nice…

"I'm… gonna sleep… for a bit. Wake me… when Teefs gets here…" Those were my last words until I was completely knocked out.

* * *

><p><em>Voices… I'm hearing… voices?<em>

"_How dare you try to come, brother! Do you not know what you have done to her?"_

_Wha-? What happened?_

"_She is my queen, and no other will be in place, sister. I will go back at nights to judge, but I will be damned if I lose her again!"_

_A deeper voice… not like the previous one._

"_Brother, are you… do you still regret your actions that made her disappear?"_

_That voice… so familiar… so sad…_

"… _I do…"_

_Is.. How come I know this voice?_

_I… what is going on… I…_

_Another dream… but… why does my heart beat so bad?_

_I was now running through trees and not minding the small noises in my ears. They were so close, but it was tiny whispers. I tried to scream, cry, or yell out for help, but my voice was harsh and tired from all the running. I was scared about something, but I can't place where that fear is coming from. Shit. I'm the badass, fucking ninja! I shouldn't have run. I would face my enemies head on and die with pride as a warrior. This wasn't right. This wasn't right!_

"_**Persephone**__…" A dark, rough whisper, different from the light and high voices, echoed throughout the forest, and my heart beat faster. That voice sent chills up my spine for no reason, and I ran faster than ever. Mom called me that name, and I don't mind it. However, to have anyone call me like that, I feel like I was going to get fucking killed. Mom, I really don't mind you calling that name anymore. In fact, I will hug you and say that I will accept my middle name, and no one else would say my name. A strange, cold wind blew behind me, and I was going to hyperventilate. Fuck, fuck, mothershitter, fuck! C' mon legs! Move faster!_

"_**Persephone**__…" The voice was close now, and the whole world froze. I couldn't move, and all my limbs feel like they just dropped to my side without any command from my head. My heart and breathing stopped when a hot breath blew passed my earlobe, making puffs of breath feel tingly and my breathing into pants. I turned my head a bit in fear, and I saw was eerie yellow eyes, a gray face, and a red crown. The man smiled and whispered through his ashen lips._

"_**I found you, my beloved queen**__."_

* * *

><p>"HOLY SHIT!" I screamed and shot up, slamming my head against something and cried out in pain. I think there was another cry, and that voice was familiar. I think I slammed my forehead against one of my friends.<p>

"What the hell, girl? Goddammit! That hurt!"

"Reno?" I groaned and cupped my bruised forehead. I looked up to see Reno clutching his nose, and blood was trickling down between his fingers. Guilt hit me, and I was very concerned.

"Oh crap! Reno! Sorry!" I grabbed my bag and dug through it, throwing bags and pencils until I came across a packet of tissues. I ripped one away and held it to him, letting him take it and thanking me in mutters. I looked around to find anyone, besides Reno, around me. No one was around, and it made me think.

"Hey, where's Aerith?" I asked him, and the redhead just shrugged.

"Said she has a meeting. You think she's in the student council?" I frowned. She never told me about any meetings coming up. If there was, then they should have announced it through the speakers. Those members are a bunch of dirty, lazy…

"So… nightmare?" Reno uttered a few syllables since he was still suffering from my sudden wake up call. He snapped me out of my muse, and I winced. I… really do not want to remember that dream, and it was freaky. Just remembering those eyes sent shivers down my spine, and I wanted to get back home and hug my baby brother. He, of course, hugged me back because I am his favorite sister in the whole wide world. I was probably screaming at the time when Reno found me, and I did knocked my hard head against his nose when I woke up. Oh well. Time to suck it up.

"Yeah." I think his nose was healing, but he just lay against the grass to keep the blood from flowing out.

"Wanna talk about it?" Eerie yellow eyes would have been the first words out of my mouth, but I kept it shut.

"Too scary." I can mutter out those words. Of course it was scary. Who would call out my middle name in a cat and mouse chase and call me a queen? Ambassador's daughter, yes. Queen? Hell no.

"Like the revival of the doll dream whenever you try to kill it?" Reno grinned, and I just chucked my bag at his face. Screw you, Reno. He just took the bag out and pouted, but he was laughing in the eyes. One of these days Reno, pow! Right in the kisser!

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. You gotta go to meet up Mr. Valentine today!" He exclaimed suddenly, and I felt all of my blood turn ice cold. Mr. Valentine wants to talk to me? Was it because of my big mouth comment on him? I gulped and looked at him.

"Do… you know why?" Reno had this stern expression for one second until his unsure, goofy one replaced it with a forced scratch on the head. I wondered what was up with everyone. Was Mr. Valentine that bad?

"Dunno. Hey, how about I go with you? I heard that there was a rapist around the area, and many of the girls are now pairing up in twos or threes in school. I don't wanna see you get hurt now you have a bruise on the forehead." I rolled my eyes and flicked his forehead with my finger. I am a freakin' ninja, and he has seen me do crazier things involving jumping off a three story building and landing ever gracefully. Well, it would have been graceful if Tifa hadn't yelled at me from across the schoolyard.

"When were you ever a stuck-up gentleman?" I gathered my belongings back into my bag, and Reno just stood up and mock bowed. Then, he had this fake butler accent just to piss me off.

"Forgive me, milady. Shall we depart?" I threw my bag again, and this time, my stuff is in there.

"Let's go, butler."

"It's Reno."

"Whatever!"

* * *

><p>"We're here!" Reno is such a parrot that it wasn't even funny. You know why it isn't funny? It's like he just escorted me to the death chamber that had Mr. Valentine as the executioner. He's the priest, and I'm on death row. All we need is the bodyguard that is beside me. I think Rude could fit in there, but he was a big softie like the kitty in his house. Don't tell anyone that; he'd skin me and never talk to me again.<p>

"You should be an actor in the future, Reno. You basically have the talent to be a stunt dummy." Reno full blasted his glare at my sarcasm, and I snickered with a grin. I know his future was deadest on being an actor; he's the star cast of the upcoming play since freshman year. Well, at first he was the sub cast of the characters, but he really showed the upper classmen. He does it so well that it is no wonder the drama teacher kept him locked in his room. I think our teacher is gay, but who cares. His dramatized actions rule over the school with Reno as his sidekick. Don't tell that I called Reno a sidekick; he blew up with so much cussing in freshman year that one teacher almost had a heart attack.

"Anyways, let's go!" When he touched the doorknob, he froze on the spot and paled. I wonder, what's gotten into him?

"Reno? You okay, dude?" He was shaking like a leaf, or a branch, and took his hand off of the knob.

"Actually, I remembered that my mom told me to get my rear-end into the car after class. I don't want to have her scream my name out in the school, so… BYE!" He just dashed away from me, leaving me to gape and swear a thousand words from my mouth.

Reno, you retard! Why did you have to abandon me alone in the freakin' wolf's den? I am gonna haunt you and your house if I die. Do you hear me? You are going to fucking die! I am going to come to your house and booby-trap every corner of your room that you cannot sleep in it anymore! If I become a ghost, I am gonna levitate the bed, shake you on it, and record your girly scream for the whole high school to see! Revenge will be mine!

After swearing up a storm and panting on the aftermath, I turned to the door and gulped. This is hell; this was going to be hell. I had my hand on the knob, not knowing if I should open the door or not.

_**Open the door.**_

I jumped and yelped when that voice echoed in my head. I turned around to see anyone in the hallway, but there was no one. Not even a sound or voices echoing through the hall. Usually, there should be some students or teacher faculty around, but this was very creepy. There were some shadows in the corners moving around, and-

Okay! This was beyond creep-vile, and I think the companionship with Mr. Valentine is much better than standing in front of his door. Like pressing the fast-forward button, I opened the door and literally jumped through, slamming the door behind me with my heart beating hysterically.

"Ah… Miss Kisaragi. Just in time for teacher-student conference. One-on-one." Red crimson eyes were glaring at me from the teacher's desk, and I already missed the old hag now. Fuck. What is wrong with me?

"I… um… I was just-"

"Save your excuses later. Sit." He commanded, and a few seconds later, I ran to grab the chair nearby and slam it down in front of his desk. I sat immediately and looked down. This was very embarrassing, and I know I always do not make a good impression at the first try. Well, there was one time I was very boastful when I was a kid, and every kid didn't enjoy my loudness. I was lonely at one time until Tifa and Aerith came over and made friends with me. That was long ago, and I still enjoyed our first friendship. I wondered if his attention was away from me.

I looked up for a bit before immediately looking down. Crap, he's still looking at me. His eyes were not leaving me, and it was sending chills up my spine. Mrs. Helga, as much as I hate you so much right now, I wish that you come back and not retire.

"Now," he started; I gulped. "I have heard from the previous faculty members that you are the trouble making student, despite the above grade averages in other subject. However…" He continued staring at me and had his mouth covering behind the entwined fingers like one of those main villains in those movies.

"… it seems that English is not your strong subject since the beginning of your freshman year. Tell me. Why is it that you met the expectations of the other subjects and not English?" Hm… let's see… Mrs. Helga hates me, research papers are a pain in the ass, essay writing makes my hands cramp, and trying to make my answers make sense has teachers confused as hell. Oh well. I'll just summarize everything up for him.

"Well… I guess I had a hard time in English because both my parents are from Wutai. My first language is Wutainese, and I was having trouble understanding a second language." I can see one of his eyebrows was raised, and he sounded curious… or he tries to sound like he's interested.

"Oh? You are from Wutai? Then, how come your middle name is not Wutainese?" Oh man. He just had to bring that subject up. My lips had a thin line, and I had to bit the inside of my cheek to not snap at him.

"My mother is from the South, and the South was heavily influenced by the outside when she was a kid. She told me that when Wutai was discovered, the South took interest of the culture. Therefore, many generations from the South have different middle names." He seemed interested, but his voice had this no non-sense attitude.

"That doesn't explain why you are not excelling English, Miss Kisaragi." Okay. He was pissing me off from this point on, and I glared.

"I tutor kids in the summer and winter and help them speak and write Wutainese, and I do have to babysit my baby brother, Mr. Valentine. When I always come back to school, I tend to… forget that it is English class and mix up… a whole lot of stuff between Wutainese and English." His crimson eyes had this… unexpected glint, and he sighed.

"Have you gotten a tutor through this year?" I sighed and sulked on the chair.

"To tell you the truth, everyone said I was a lost cause, even the smartest of the students were having a hard time on me. I tried, but every time I try, it is always around the average grade." I didn't see him move, but I do hear him say something differently.

"I think you aren't trying hard enough…" I would shot him a glare until he raised his hand up.

"… but I am getting the feeling that you are either missing something or you are misunderstanding things." Now that is a surprise. Mr. Valentine is being helpful and getting points that I do not understand. I gave him a confused expression, giving out my full attention to him.

"What are you getting at?" He was sighing, yet again, and opened the cabinet from his desk. Strange, what is he getting- what is that?

"This is your previous work from the two years you began the school year." He opened the file and pulled out one of my work. I grimaced at the many red marks in my test; this was called every student's worst nightmare. I have seen Rude come out with a pale face after reread his past work, and I think we all shivered of that thought one time. I think everyone has to face this problem, or I think the old hag has considered this revenge. He placed the paper and a copy from the previous test in front of me.

"I'll simply explain this. You seem to misunderstand this question. When you are to describe how the Civil War began, you just described the Civil War from beginning to end. The key word is 'how' as in what started the war and why." Now… that… actually made sense! How come I missed that part? My tutors never told me about this, and they just pointed out the mistakes on how they were confused. I stood up from my chair and looked closely at the question. Later, I glanced at my paper and squinted at the marked circles and lines. They were questioning how my sentences were relating to the problem, and I understood that I wasn't explaining it in a clear sense to how.

"I… think I got it. Wait… so there were key words in the essay?" Mr. Valentine was looking at me in surprise and muttered so softly.

"You… didn't know?" Before I could answer him, he suddenly shifted on his chair and opened the desk cabinet. I just sat there and watched him pull out a paper and slid it in front of me.

"Here's another paper of a previous essay. Read first, and then circle or underline the key words." He gave me his pen, and I just stared at it. I took the pen from him, but when I did, my pinky brushed his finger, making me freeze. For a moment, I thought Mr. Valentine turned into something else. It was either that he had a dark shadow, a very big dark shadow, behind him, or I was hallucinating. Mr. Valentine seemed surprised and withdrew his hand. I swore that his hand was shaking a bit, and I blinked. What is going on? Huh?

"Miss… Kisaragi?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, I spaced out." I spaced out because I thought there were yellow eyes other than red eyes. I focused back to the paper and frowned. Great. Another essay question, but I'm going to have to show him what I know. I circled a few that were supposed to be the main parts, and I looked at it. I… think I got them all. I looked at Mr. Valentine, and he seemed to watch me out of curiosity. Um… creepy.

"I… I think I'm done." I held out the paper to him, and he quickly took it away from my hand. That motion was fast, and I think I had a paper cut on my palm at that speed. I didn't want to say anything to make him freak out, but holy hell! Did that hurt! I watched him scan my attempted work and raised one eyebrow.

"Interesting…" He muttered, as he looked at my point of view.

"Hold on. What is the hell is going on?" He just stared at me and sighed.

"I… thought that all of the students learn this technique since the beginning of their freshmen year. They seem to know what is going on, but… I am guessing that you weren't taught correctly." He held out the paper to me and underlined the two questioning words that I circled.

"These are correct," He started and later underlined the other two that were somehow not important.

"However, you were incorrect on the first two. It is not 'Loveless' or 'goddess', but 'address' and 'brought' are the main words you need to find." I dropped my jaw and just groaned at the parts. He wasn't talking about the main key words that I was thinking; this guy actually pointed out the verbs that I'm trying to figure out how does it relate to the stuff.

"If you were wondering how, it is actually parts of the verbs that are the main links to the question." He read my mind. Oh joy…

"So… does that mean I have to rewrite _everything_ from past and future papers?" I know I was going through the drama phase again, but come on! Why does simple things have to become the most difficult part of the season? Mr. Valentine smiled and shook his head.

"Not quite." I looked at him, and he leaned back.

"I am planning to teach an afterschool class that involves English writing involving college exams and presenting tips on writing. I think it may benefit you on your writing in both school and future exams since you seem to grasp the tinier threads of English. However, you need written permission from your parents in order to take this afterschool class." I raised my eyebrow and stared at him. How come he hasn't told me about this during class time? Better yet, why is he telling me this now? He seemed to know what I was thinking and explained.

"I have been seeing other students' progression in English, and I can say that I'm not happy with the results. Many of you are going to fail the essay, especially those who are in the advance class. Therefore, I was planning to open a class for those who need the… extracurricular credit… to pass my class." I stared at him in amazement and am starting to like this teacher. He's not a bad teach after all. He grinned, and I was freaking out. His red eyes, no matter how… unique they are, are staring at me with a lot of pride.

"Why, thank you, Miss Kisaragi. I appreciate the comment from you speaking out loud."

I have got to stop talking to myself or saying stuff out loud.

"Oh, and please remember to finish the three chapters by tomorrow."

I take back what I said. You will now be named "Buttface" and will be going down until you reach "Fucktard" at the seventh level of _my_ hell. There is no going up.


	4. So Much Information Tiny Brain Hurting

Chapter 3: So Much Information. Tiny Brain Hurting.

Hello. Yuffie Kisaragi here, and I am _not_ saying my middle name. Anyways, it has been two weeks of school, and my brain is full of information from class to class. I think I am losing two to three hours of normal sleep, and my grades were wavering. I kid you not. Have you seen Aerith, Tifa, and me trying to shove so much homework and projects into the finished pile? They weren't kidding when workload will become a mountain; we actually had around five piles of different subjects and had to skip lunch to lessen the workload.

"If y equals to x to the power of x and x is greater than zero… but there's a cosine, so…" That was Aerith's voice echoing about her calculus class. This was going to be intense year for her.

"So if the mass is ten kilograms and force is one hundred fifteen newtons… then…" That was Tifa, and physics is my second worst subject in school. At least I was passing that class…

"Oh my god! This is brain wreaking." I complained, and guess what? I had English, and I am not happy at all. My hands were already in my hair and messing it up. I really don't care; this was brain damaging!

"Well, what do you expect? Finishing the vocabulary section, typing a story using all ten of them, _and_ studying for a quiz is all in a week. This _is_ my brother's class after all." Tifa stated, and I wanted to die with the overload.

"Not to mention that I had to attend the afterschool class _and_ finish writing keywords in the last five chapters about the Greek Mythology on how it is related to religious times." I dawdled out and slammed my head. Man… I wanna sleep _so_ bad…

"Hey, Yuffie!" Tifa called out, and I looked up from my pitiful state.

"What?" I grounded out, and I know she was rolling her eyes at me.

"We're going to get lunch. Wanna come?" I sighed and shook my head. I had my lunch in my bag from my mom. Since it was going to be one hell of a study time at lunch, might as well eat up and sulk some more.

"I got my lunch. I told my mom that I'm gonna be studying like crazy, so go on ahead." Aerith and Tifa looked at each other and then later me.

"Are you sure?" I'm fine. What? Do I look like I was going to get raped in the library?

"No. It's nothing." Tifa said, and I groaned and slammed my head on the book. I really need to shut my mouth.

"I'm fine, really. Go before I decide to eat you for dinner instead." They laughed at my attempt on a joke and left. I was really happy to have friends like them. Really. I want to marry them and set off for our honeymoon, but sadly, they have boyfriends waiting for them. Aw… maybe I should talk to the guys about letting me marry them first. Heeheehee…

My stomach growled, and I swear to the gods, I think a few people have heard that loud stomach of mine. I swore, quietly since this was a library, and dug my hand into my bag. Now where is that stupid plastic box of a-

Oh.

_Uh oh_.

I think I forgot it… _again_! I was twitching all right and wanted to punch the desk and break it in half. Well, not as much as Tifa can, but I really want to crack the motherfu-

"Hey! Yuffie! You got a visitor!" All of the people turned to Reno and shushed him. Reno just glared at them before he spotted me with a big grin. Typical Reno… and…

"Yu-shan!" I think everyone looked down to see my baby brother and gave out the heartfelt coo. They would have shushed him as well, but… he's three years old for gods' sakes. He was holding my lunchbox with so delicately, and my heart grew warm. It was so adorable. I stood up from my seat and jogged to my baby brother. I squat down to his level and allowed him to hug me, minding my lunch as he snuggled on my shoulder.

"Let's go outside, Ryuu." I whispered behind his ear, and I looked up to Reno.

"Watch my stuff." I glared at him when he rolled his eyes, but he knew that this was a brother-sister bonding to the cutest extent. Imagine one of those chibi moments in television involving a kid drawing on tiny Ryuu and tiny me.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll watch over it. Not like there's anything good in there." I picked up Ryuu and stood up, not until I "accidentally" had my foot slamming against his shin. Reno swore loudly, causing the librarian to throw the book at him… literally. Last time, the librarian allowed one of the girls to whack one of their guy friends on the head unconscious and telling him that it was his own fault for pissing people off. Ha! This library is fucking awesome, as long as you follow the librarian's rules on her own terms. After I got Ryuu away from the library and set him down on the bench outside of the school, he gave me this big innocent stare and spoke out.

"We-shan say bad worsh?" I smiled and nodded.

"Reno-chan say bad word. Don't copy him." He had this horrified look and shook his head.

"Wyuu no copy! Wyuu no copy!" He seemed to stop for a bit and later held out my lunch to me.

"Wunsh!" Okay. We so need a fanclub for this kid. He's the essence of cuteness to the tenth degree, and I fear that the girls in this school are going to eat him up. I smiled and held my hands out to hold his hands.

"Thank you, Ryuu." … did I just hear a tiny growl? Wait… I think that was Ryuu's stomach.

"Ryuu? Did you eat your lunch today?" Ryuu began whimpering and had tears in his eyes, and I was panicking. Mom was used to, in fact very good, on comforting him on times like crying, and I was the one who makes him laugh since I _voluntarily _decided to become the "Friendly Idiot" just for Ryuu. I cradled his face when I cup his cheeks and whispered.

"Shush, now. Don't cry. I'm not mad." I think mom and I should be twins because Ryuu stopped sniffling and stared at me with bright, shiny eyes. Mental picture taken.

"I just want to know why didn't you eat lunch today?" He gave me this big grin that I would have grinned back if it wasn't for those words out of his mouth.

"Nanashi hunwie! Ryuu give Nanashi wunsh." I groaned and slapped my forehead.

Red. You stupid… cat… dog… whatever!

That big, stupid feline-mutt Nanaki had to give Ryuu the puppy eyes and eat the freakin' food. Nanaki, or Red since I own him, is this big… Tibetan Mastiff that has a red fur and looks like a lion because of his fur. I owned that dog when I found him around seven years ago when he was an injured puppy, and my parents allowed me to take care of him if I did all of the chores involving Nanaki. He was a cute red puppy with one eye, but when he grew, he _grew_. I couldn't sit on him at all since I was always bigger than him, but Nanaki allowed Ryuu to ride on him when my baby brother was still in diapers. He was always reliable when it was just Ryuu and me, and he is a loyal dog when I set out the commands. There was one time that someone tried to kidnap me for ransom money from my dad, and I fainted because I got knocked out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital and was told that Nanaki saved me. I don't know how, but I loved that mutt to death… even if he was the pain in the ass and sheds all over the carpet.

Oh well. Might as well not each lunch and let Ryuu eat mine.

"You know, I can share with you. Is that okay?" His smile was so wide that I was worried that it might freeze or split his face in half. I just laughed and sat beside him. It was a bento box since my parents came from Wutai, and I didn't mind bringing it with me. I would have shared him my lunch if there were two chopsticks, but since there is only a pair I can give him my lunch.

"Miss Kisaragi. What are you doing?" I just froze and looked behind Ryuu, almost half way finishing my lunch. Great. Mr. Valentine was standing there with one of his eyebrows raised, and my brother turned around after swallowing the piece of chicken I gave him. He had a few pieces of rice stuck on his tiny jaw and had this observant face to try to understand the stranger in front of him. Mr. Valentine looked like he had his eyes narrowed at him, and I wondered if he did not like children at all. Well, he is the teacher from hell, so I am thinking that he really does not like kids. Ryuu pointed at him and spoke out.

"Ah! Miwster Vampi-" I had my hand on his mouth and took over.

"Sorry! This is my baby brother, Ryuu, and he came over to give me my lunch!" I knew that I shouldn't influence him with stuff from my room. I can't blame Denzel, who is Cloud's little brother, for introducing me to vampire and monster comics since I have a little brother of my own, but I now know that my mouth can run into trouble, especially through Ryuu. I sighed in relief when I saw that angered look disappear into one of surprise. I tried to explain to him about why my baby brother is around and eating my lunch.

"Problem is that Nanaki, my dog, had eaten Ryuu's lunch, making him lunchless and hungry, and I am currently giving up my lunch to make him grow." Mr. Valentine had this neutral face and nodded, and he walked up to me… well… to us since Ryuu _almost_ send me to detention. He crouched down to his level and removed my hand from the tiny mouth. Something on the back of my head was bumping, but I ignored it. However, the touch felt like soft electricity was flowing through me… literally.

"What is your name?" Ryuu looked surprised and later smiled. The smile really runs through the Kisaragi family.

"Me? I wham the Gweatest Ni… Ni…Ninja Hewo, Wyuu Kisawagi! I wham goin' to… uh… de… de… beat weevil with Yu-shan!" Insert ultimate face-palm of the century here. He has to stop watching those Ultimate Fighter's shows. Well… one of us has to…

"I… see." He was smiling, and I watched his eyes danced in amusement and laughter. Whoa! Two weeks of tortured hell, and this guy was smiling and making me hallucinating! Shit! Did something happen on the way? No wait. Ryuu! I love you, kid! I knew that you could break the iciest block in school.

"I will be going now." He tried to stand up, but somehow, he couldn't. I looked at his hand that was still holding, and… am I holding his hand too?

"Ah!" He began pointing at Mr. Valentine again, and this time I couldn't stop him because my hand was still held by him. I withdrew my hand away from his grip this time and blushed. Oh gods, I'm blushing. Why is this happening? Before my thoughts can be processed, I heard the words coming from Ryuu's mouth.

"I knows wou! Vis't Nanashi an' Wyuu… again?"

Wait… what?

Mr. Valentine just smiled and patted my brother's head. I didn't get to turn around to ask Mr. Valentine nor will I care about Buttface. However, I need facts straight from my brother. He is my precious brother, and all I could know is that Mr. Valentine knows where I live. Having a teacher from hell in school is better than having a neighbor from hell, and I know that throwing eggs at the new grouchy neighbor will get me in big, **_big_** trouble. I sent the old neighbor packing because he called me a little hellion, and plus, he's just a grouchy old man who didn't like kids around his lawn. That was years ago when I was ten.

"Ryuu?" He turned to me with his big eyes. No matter how much I love him and am willingly go melt under his eyes, I need to protect him from Mr. Soon-to-be-Stalker. God… isn't that… pedophile or something?

"How does he know you and Nanaki? What do you mean visit?" He tilted his head and pondered. I know he was wondering why I asked, and he shrugged.

"He a new fwiend. He wive… uh… next to us." I groaned.

Mr. Valentine was living next to us. Fuck. I think Reno just might keel over and die when I tell him this.

* * *

><p>"<em>Persephone…"<em>

_I turned to see who called me. It wasn't the creepy voice, but it sounded… familiar. Something like similar to my voice but… deeper? There stood a man, and he didn't look like me. Well… he did, but I would say I would have been looking at an alternative me who became a guy. You know… cross-dressing or gender bendering? He seemed like… he was from the skies, but he was… transparent but not. This… other me… was in a form of… wind. No… I can see him, but he had wings. I cannot see the rest of him, but his face was there. He… looks like…_

"_What are you doing here?" I asked, and he seemed sad. I do not know this guy, and I wanted to say that. However, my mouth was moving on my own, and it wasn't my voice. Well, it is my voice, but it was slightly deeper. He almost looked reluctant and lost._

"_I… have heard about your request." I didn't say anything and just sighed._

"_I see… mother has spoken to you as well…"_

"_Is… there any way? Any other way?" Any other… way? To what?_

"_I have spoken and requested to the King. Do not make this difficult." I glared at him, and he cringed. I lessened my glare and sighed._

"_He hurt you. It's not the end." I don't know why, but I… feel like crying._

"_It ended when he-"_

"_Persephone!"_

"_Enough!" I inhaled for a bit and later exhaled a shaky sigh._

"_I do not want to have my final goodbye with so much rage. Please…" Final... goodbye? What happened? I walked up to him, and we were standing face to face. He was looking down a bit, but he later collapsed in the process. I was alarmed and went down to him, holding his shoulder blades where his wings were. They were huge… like an angel, but I can sense that he was like a little brother to me…_

_Just like Ryuu…_

"_I must go now. I will see you again… much later…" His whole body was shaking, but I felt like I was leaving… disappearing…_

"_Triptolemus… thank you… take care… of mother…" I whispered as I disappeared._

* * *

><p>Urgh… my head is throbbing… and I'm feeling pressure on my chest. I looked down to see my shirt being drooled on with a tiny mouth from a baby brother. How did I get here in my room again? On my bed as well? Wait… I think I remember. I think I got back home and decided to finish the rest of the damn homework. Somehow, I fell asleep and wondered if there was a time that Ryuu fell asleep too. Never mind, I probably need to finish the damn homework since I got news from Ryuu that Mr. Valentine is our next-door neighbor. My friends feel sympathy toward me when I had to tell them through Ryuu's explanation, and Reno just keeled over and laughed so hard that I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel. Oh well. It was close to making him die.<p>

"What the fu- fudge was that about?" Almost got my ass on the pan. Mom would have my hide if Ryuu asked her what I said. As I try to get up and try not to wake up Ryuu, the door burst open and in-came the large red Mastiff that looked like it was crossbred with a lion with one eye, Nanaki. God, I love that mutt to death, but…

"ARGH! Red! Quit it! Stop slobbering me!" Well, the large dog decided to wake me up by licking me, and I woke up Ryuu from his nap.

"Mmmmeh? Yu-shan?" When Nanaki licked him, Ryuu giggled when he got a face full of saliva. Great… another shower for both of us…

"Nanashi!" … Okay. Now that is too cute and funny: Ryuu hugging Red on the chest, and I thought he's going to be swallowed whole by the biggest fluff-ball of the world. Well, his face in Red's fur when I can't see his face looked like he was swallowed up if it weren't his arms being visible. I could imagine a sound effect for this: FOOF! I sighed and gently pulled the kid away from Red. Sheesh. Now he has fur and saliva on his face.

"C'mon kid. Let's go shower. Red, stay here." I commanded, but Red whined and wanted to go with us. Good gods, he was giving me that big puppy eye look with only one eye.

"No." I commanded, but the dumb dog wasn't listening. He was wagging his long tail and was pouncing on the carpet floor. Shit, I think I should groom him and cut his fur a bit.

"No, Nanaki. Sit." I sternly, or with most of the sternness I have in my tired body, commanded, but he was not listening. He was still looking at me with this happy panting and patted on my knees. Ow! Crap! I think his claw has grown again. I hissed in pain and covered my knee. I checked it and saw the claw mark was there. I think it drew blood a bit, and it was time for him to go through a full groom.

"Yu-shan hurt?" Ryuu ask so innocently and had big sad eyes with a whimper. I grinned and kissed his cheek.

"I'm fine. Yu-shan is fine." I said until I felt a cold chill in the air. Strange. Was the air conditioner on? I think one of the maids turned it on since it was slightly too warm outside. I heard a whimper and looked at Red. He had his ears down and bowing down to me, and I was concerned. What's wrong with him?

"Red? It's okay. I'm fine." I bent down to his level and beckoned him closer.

"Come here, Reddy. See? Mommy's fine!" He shook his head and back away. Holy… I haven't seen him scared or like this ever. No. I have never seen him like this since I found him as a puppy. Mom and dad usually do the scolding, but I never done this to him. Call me a doormat for both Ryuu and Red since I was the mommy and sister to them, but I never did scare them. Ever.

"It's okay! Don't be scared!" I let Ryuu hang onto my back as I shuffled toward him. I had my arms open to him and patted my good knee gently.

"Come here, Reddy. Give mommy and Ryuu a big hug." It seemed to work. He looked up and walked his way here with his four feet. He did seem hesitant until I reached forward and gave him a big hug with my arms around him. Ryuu giggled and hugged his nuzzle, and Red seemed to calm down. He gave me a big slobber kiss on my cheek and another on Ryuu's giggling face. I laughed and pulled away.

"Okay, boys. You, two, are going to take a bath. I need a bath too, and I have to give Red a haircut." I heard a whimper and slightly glared at Red.

"Red. You're shedding. You're up after I get out of the shower, and don't run around the house this time." Gods, I need a vacation somewhere during the Winter Break.


	5. Leviathan, Save Me from This Insanity

Chapter 4: Leviathan, Save Me from This Insanity

Oh my gods. Thank you! It's the weekend, and I am so stoked on going out with the girls! We finally had free time this Sunday, and mom was gone to grocery shopping with Ryuu and one of the maids. I know I need to be ready for the next upcoming week of homework, tests, and short paragraph writing, but I need a break. Having Buttface as our next-door neighbor was harsh, and to make matters worse, he and dad were friends instantly. Oh my god. I had tutoring days with him on Fridays and Saturdays, and my dad was confident that my safety and education was in his hands.

Holy shit. I was so close on getting therapy in school, but after finishing all the mountain piles of homework and losing hours of sleep, I am able to relieve myself from Mr. Valentine's presence and his gaze. I lost a whole lot of sleep at that time, but good thing that Mr. Valentine has a meeting to go to with the teachers this Sunday. Good luck, loser!

Speaking of sleep, I kept on having these dreams almost every time. Naps and sleep has been weird to the point of being scary, and I was being called by my middle name. I never told anyone this, especially my mom or my brother, because one) mom would tell me that they are just dream or would send me to see a therapist and two) Ryuu's a baby and would freak out about how it's going to affect him from me. Thus, Ryuu would tell mom, and _she_ would send me to therapy, too. I couldn't tell anyone about this, or I'd be in the loony house where every room has a creeper or a rapist. Nuh-uh. Thank you, but I got a life to live.

"Yuffie! Are you ready?"

"Coming Teefs! Just hold a damn minute!" I was able to slip my arms through the holes of my dark grey vest before charging down the stairs. My navy blue tank top had a rose floral design, and my tan and black shorts was still short much against my dad's "going out" rule. I was able to grab my black knee high socks, tan boots, and a pink ribbon for my arm from my closet of piled doom. I couldn't find a pair for my white wristbands, so I had a black-sleeved armband that was long enough to cover my elbow and wrists.

When I grabbed the doorknob, I heard a whimper behind me and turned around. Poor Red. He wanted to go, but I need someone to guard the house while I'm gone. Not only that I have to hide my identity as the ambassador's daughter, I have to make sure that the house is well guarded, too. Red was the best guard dog we ever have, and he did manage to make damage against the guys who tried to kidnap my brother and me. That was months ago, and he was able to alert us after chewing their arms. I tell you. It wasn't pretty, and I had to take my baby brother upstairs from the gruesome scene as the police took them away.

"Aw. I'm sorry. I can't take you. Don't worry boy. I'll get you something when I come back, okay?" He whimpered a bit more and nudged my hand with his nose. I would love to take him with me, but he's… well… _big_. Additionally, the children who seen him from Ryuu's show and tell would climb on the big dummy, and I don't think he could withstand the weight.

"Make sure that you guard the house while I'm gone." Red barked that showed that he understood what I said and went stiff. Sometimes, I wonder if the mutt was smarter than anyone in this house. Oh well…

"Bye!" I waved to him and opened the door. After I got out and locked the door in case of emergencies, the alarm system turned on. You can thank my dad and his paranoia.

"Ready, Yuffs?" Tifa asked, and Aerith was jumping up and down. Tifa was wearing her old get up that resembled a cowgirl, and Aerith wore the white dress with pink laces and a pink cotton sleeved sweater. It still had the summer feeling, but the start of fall started a few days ago. Therefore, we are going to enjoy the last temperature of the weekend. I was grinning wide and was ready for the weekend.

"Teefs, I was born ready!"

And nobody was going to stop Yuffie Kisaragi to enjoy her weekends. Not even Buttface next door.

* * *

><p>This whole day was full of fun and enjoyment. We managed to go shopping around the city district, and we had different ideas. Aerith wanted to buy toys she promised for her sister, and each of us decided to spend a few gil on one or two. I got Ryuu the biggest Moogle plush toy I found in the store while Aerith bought a three different colored Chocobos. Everyone in the store stared at me like "how can a tiny person lift a king-size toy half the weight and size"; I didn't care. It's for Ryuu. He's three for gods' sakes. Tifa bought a remote controlled motorcycle for Cloud's little brother, and he was a big fan on vehicles.<p>

The next idea was mine. I wanted to go to the arcade to spend a few gil on games and the dancing revolution machine at the back. Tifa and I challenged each other on every single machine from combat fighting to team-up shooting games. Aerith just watched and tallied who won the most. If there was a tie, the Dance Dance Revolution Excel was the tiebreaker, and it would mean either I win or Tifa would win. Today, I lost and had to pay lunch for all of us. Damn.

The last idea was dress shopping, and to tell you the truth, I _loathed_ that idea. I always have a handful of dresses pushed from both the girls, and I would have to try out _every_ single dress. Most of the dresses involve larger breasts, and I lack that area. The other few would fit me, but it doesn't seem to touch my impression. Times like those would fail, and Tifa would drag me to the shoe store. I love my boots thank you very much, but if it were sandals, I would like it flat and somewhat criss-crossed up to my calves. I would love to do this at my wedding day, but I would prefer the white kimono my mom used to wear. It was soft and silky, and the design would be the blue water dragon named "Leviathan." That is a serpent god from Wutai, and it was previously named "Poseidon" in the southern part.

Right now, I was in the middle of changing and throwing the bright orange dress over the curtains just for Aerith to catch it. If this was for future prom, I am not getting caught on that gaudy style. Shit, wearing that dress made me feel like a slut to the tenth degree. Tifa, where did your brain go?

"How _long_ am I staying in here?" I called out… yet again.

"Until you have at least three dresses that we all like, according to Tifa's direction. Oh, and she says that you are not going to get out of here until you have at least _one_ dress." Aerith answered behind the curtain, and I groaned. Stupid Tifa. Why did you have to make things difficult?

I grabbed the next dress, and it was purple. I looked at the mirror and choked in disgust. Who the hell decided to put frills on the top? This is definitely on my "What to Burn" list. As I tossed the frilly dress over the curtains, I saw something white at the corner of my eye.

I turned my head to see a neat white dress that resembled a toga hanging at the corner. Well… it wasn't a toga, but it did look like it was crossed with a simple styled white prom dress with a sash on the waist and being held by two large gold rings on each side. It was sleeveless, and the cloth crossed the right side over the left. The skirt was long and didn't show any slits anywhere. Something like this caught my attention, and I brushed my fingers against the fabric. It was silky, but it wasn't like my mother's dress. Oh well, it was close enough, and I basically want to get back to my old outfit. Being here in only my underwear and boots is slightly sexy, but I do need to get home.

I took the dress from the hanger and tried to get the dress on me. I swear this thing feels like it was made for me, and I wanted to see how I look like. I had my head out and shook away my hair to look at the mirror.

Holy shit. This is perfect.

It doesn't look frilly or puffy like the other dresses, and it doesn't feel like it shows too much. Sure the V-cut is down to the center of my chest and down to the lower back, but it just feels… well… perfect. I think I should grab the two-inch high heels open toed shoes with the criss-crossed straps. Hey… I think that works. I giggled and spun around, feeling the skirt flow with the twirl. I closed my eyes and think of the guy I would dance with me, and I would definitely have heads turning.

"I like this." I whispered to myself and imagined a guy whispering next to my ear.

**"**_**Perfect."**_

HOLY CORNDOGS ON A STICK!

My eyes snapped open, and I turned around to find the source of the sound. Nothing was here, but I swore that… that voice did not belong here. That was _not_ my inner voice or the voice of a guy around my age, and it was too deep and dark.

On time, Tifa ripped the curtains open with Aerith behind her. I think I screamed a little too loud, and I needed to remind myself on quit saying things outloud. I felt like I got caught red handed with a cookie on my hand when I was at Aerith's house. However, this was different. Tifa had this fierce protectiveness in her eyes, and Aerith had the worry expression as well as a concern for me. That immediately changed when they saw what I was wearing and squealed.

"That's perfect!" Aerith cooed and spun me around. I didn't mind, but I'll let them turn me to have a look at my new dress.

"No kidding! If I was a guy, I'd lose my balance and kiss the floor." Tifa laughed, and I guffawed.

"Girl, I'm the one who's going to be a boy, and I'd steal you both away from Cloud and Zack if I changed my gender." We all giggled, and they left me take the dress off behind the curtains once again. Now, all we need is to get my shoes if it existed.

As I was taking out the dress, I remembered the deep voice that I heard. I would have thought of it growling, but it did sounded like growling. I thought a guy was here, and I know that Tifa would use her deadly uppercut on the pervert. Shivers went up my spine, and I did shake for a bit before shaking myself out fully. That voice sounded… possessive and… holy shit. I need to get out of here.

* * *

><p>"Hey, babes."<p>

Oh. My. Gods. Go away. Move your seat somewhere far away from our table. Someone, please, save us. No wait. Tifa, deal with this idiot, please. It's supposed to be my day off before I get back to the high school hell, and this ex-boyfriend of mine is so not helping.

"What do you want?" She snarled, and I would have cheered her on except that we were in the usual café we all go. Also, the manager wants no violence in the café, or we'd be banned from it. For those who are very sleepy and are experiencing massive overload of high school education lectures, no violence equals no Tifa punch. Damn.

I scowled and drank my orange cream smoothie through a straw. His name is Jason, but he's usually called "Pirithous" or "Pirry". He's not Wutainese for sure, but he used to be the friendly, short, curled, brown haired dork I used to like since freshman year. He was interested in learning my culture, and we became friends like that. After a few more months, he asked me out, and I agreed. Our freshman year was great and fun, and we enjoyed our time together.

During our sophomore year, he changed when he ditched the glasses and dyed his brown hair blond. He went to gyms more than to the Wutainese garden near my house. He preferred the parties and beers than the festivals and tea. He ditched school to talk with his friends rather than to stay with me and talk to me. He was more involved with the cheerleaders and sports than with my culture and me. It hurt when he broke up with me because I didn't want to give him what he wanted, but I was livid when he insulted my family and my cultural beliefs. No one insults my family and gets away with it, especially the incest jeer from him. I was happy when my family and friends were there for me than his friends, and I'm over it and him. I have friends and family who are there to protect me and support me, even my own dad would threatened him to "Get away from my daughter, or I'll make sure you wish you were never born."

Now, the question was what the hell was he doing here? His school and house were on the other side of the city, and he hangs out more there than here. Was he here to get back at me? I wasn't the one who set the trap for him. It wasn't the Home Alone series, and I _am_ mentally grinning. Back to the present…

"Oh, I have a party coming next Sunday, and I was wondering if you, ladies, would come over. I promise that there will be foods, games, and drinks with many people to mingle with." I frowned. Something was telling me that this wasn't what he was telling, and I know that he hasn't shown up until now. I looked at the girls, and they knew what I was thinking. We all never have heard from Pirithous ever since he moved away from us, so something was up. We better come up with excuses.

"Sorry, Pirry. I'm going with my family to an amusement park for my sister's birthday. We all already planned out that week." Aerith answered solemnly, but inside, I know she has a lot of gusto. I looked at Tifa, who just smiled too sweetly.

"I have to babysit at that day, and I can't afford to miss this one. Sorry." From the corner of my eye, he showed disappointment in his face. Probably, he promised his friends us and declared that I was his "friend." Not anymore, ass kisser.

"What about you, Yuffie? Don't tell me that you have plans as well." Now all eyes were on me, and I know that I have **no** excuse on this one. There were no upcoming events or anything planned next week, and I internally panicked.

Oh, man. He'll know that I have nothing to do if I stuttered, make something up that it total bullshit, or be involved a nonexistent schedule plan. He knows where I lived, and I have not put a restraining order on him because he has not caused any harm on my family according to the law. Mom hates his guts, Ryuu would scowl and hug me away from him, and Dad would murder him on the spot. However, we can't do anything to "harm" him since he hasn't done anything. So, excuses have to be made, and there's almost everything in my mind that was crossed off from the list. Well… almost everything but one…

...

Why do the gods enjoy my misery?

"I can't! I have tutoring at that day." Okay. I know that Pirithous was raising an eyebrow like he doesn't believe me, and I expected that. However, I got shocked expressions from Tifa and Aerith, and I did _not_ expect this to happen. I think they were not expecting me to use the tutoring excuse since I only teach kids on winters and summer, and I know that they were thinking about my excuse about Mr. Vincent-Sadistic-Emo-Valentine.

Yes. You heard me. I have to pull out the Mr. Valentine card to get me away from jail, and I wish we were playing Monopoly™ game instead.

I actually do not have much homework, but the tutoring thing about one subject I loathe is my clinging hope to both saving my education and me. I guess that I have to be more convincing.

"Listen, getting into college and passing high school is a big deal for me, but I want to get into this university with a good GPA. Unfortunately, English was never my best subject, and this teacher practically came from hell. I'm basically failing this class, and I _need_ to up my grade." Pirithous scoffed and waved my excuse away.

"Why don't you reschedule your tutoring for next week? One week isn't going to fail your whole life." Oh yeah. I forgot that he is basically a jock _and_ doesn't care about his grades that are somewhat average. Kinda sad, but also kinda disappointing. If he was studying in the same high school with me, _then_ he'll know that Mr. Valentine isn't someone who you want to fuck with. Therefore, I'm gonna be blunt for him since he's no longer the smart, fantastic boy from two years ago.

"You know Mrs. Helga?" He nodded, remembering the strict old hag.

"Yeah? What of her?"

"She retired."

"_Really_." He didn't look surprised; she was ancient, anyways.

"There's a new teacher who is _worse_ than her. He's not going to pass people who are going to do half-assed, and I _need_ this tutoring to pass his class. Or it's summer school for me, and I will make your life a living hell if I fail this English class."

Okay. Threatening him wasn't the best convincing part, but really. I'm gonna have to _beg_ Buttface to keep him away from me _and _work on the homework and crud for English class. This is survival, and my instincts were telling me that I would rather die knowing that Mr. Valentine murdered me through English torture than not knowing what Pirithous has in stored for me.

"Are you sure that you have tutoring on that day?"

Oh. My. God. Is he stupid? No. Wait. Yes. He is.

"Yes. I have tutoring. If you make me go to your party, I _will _fail English, and I _will _sick Red on your ass if you _try_ to come over to my house." I half-groaned and half-seethed in rage to get the message across his brain. I think he got the point that his presence wasn't welcomed anymore, but he wasn't convinced about the tutoring excuse and would probably come over to "pick me up".

"All right. Good luck then." He stood up from his seat and left the café. I think we all can breathe for now, but what now? Aerith and Tifa have their true excuse, and I made a fib on mine.

"Are you really going to ask my brother to teach you?" Tifa asked, and I just slammed my head on the table.

Shit. I really need to ask Mr. Valentine next door to tutor me, do I?


	6. Tifa, Gimme Back Ryuu

**Note on the reviews: I enjoy reading the reviews from different readers, but I was hoping for some reviewers give some kind of critique on improving my writing. I am hoping that I am keeping a lot of this story in present tense since this is based on Yuffie's point of view, and there were some grammar errors I missed and confusing sentences I found. I was surprised that none of you guys caught my mistakes. **

**Disclaimer: Reminder that Final Fantasy VII is cooperated and owned by Square Enix.**

**This is the **_**last**_** disclaimer.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Tifa, Gimme Back Ryuu<p>

"Yu-shan!"

…

Ryuu. I love you, but you are going to make me cry and die at the same time. You are a lifesaver on brightening up the mood, and I had a **crappy** day after the encounter of my ex-boyfriend. I am currently hugging the life out of my baby brother and giving him the kisses on his forehead because I am going to die by the hands of Buttface next door. Or will be dying if I could get a hold of him.

"Welcome back, Lady Kisaragi. Good evening, Miss Lockhart, Miss Gainsborough."

"Gods, Chekhov. Don't call me, 'Lady.' You know that it's fine to say my first name in front of my friends." That's one of the maids, Miss Yoshimaru, I mentioned a few months ago.

Full name is Chekhov Yoshimaru, and she's basically a maid, teacher, and bodyguard. She's usually the one taking care of me for the moment and driving me to school, and she's been a friend to my mom since high school. Up to this day, she still helps my mom around the house, and they did not look older in their mid-thirties _or _early forties. Mostly, she makes sure that I stay out of trouble and teaches me how to be at _least_ a proper woman would act, and she can be scary when I sleep in lessons. She knows that I did not like the stuffy shit such as serving men and being submissive, so she just gave me the basics. Note: because my third year is getting harder to pass, she is allowing me days off until either winter or summer.

I haven't seen her daughter, Shake, around the house. Usually, on the weekends, she would be around with her mom and play with Ryuu. The kid's already twelve years old, and she was able to lift heavier stuff around her size. Sheesh. She's able to carry Godo when she was eight, and I had a good laugh when she threw him to the pool summers ago. I'm guessing that she was somewhere in her own home dealing with middle school.

Back to the present. The girls and I got to my house in the evening, and the sun's setting. We decided to return from the ex-boyfriend incident, and the sun was going down. Tifa and Aerith have rides, and they decided to wait at my house for Barret to pick them up.

"Where's mom?" I asked Chekhov while holding Ryuu.

"Your mother is going to pick up Lord Godo from the airport. Do not worry; there will be bodyguards with her as well." You know what? I think the favors are on my terms now. Dad can make sure that Pirithous stays the _hell_ away from me, as I work my ass off on studying English. I swear to the gods, three chapters of the Greek mythology each day is _not_ going well for my sanity. Wait… how long is dad staying?

"Chekhov? How long will dad be staying?" I asked, and Chekhov seemed pensive.

"I would think around a week before he leaves on Sunday for the conference meeting in Junon, if there was no emergency calls." Damn. Never mind. Looks like that plan went out the window.

"Aw… don't we get a hug as well?" Tifa teased, and Ryuu's face lit up.

"Ti-shan! Ri-shan! Hiz!" Nyooooo! He's mah baby brother! You can't have him! I'll throw you girls out the window from the second story of my house! Oh, well. I'll let him hug Tifa and Aerith for a while since they have been coming over less and less, but tonight. He is mine! Hehehehe…

"Aw… I could just eat you up!" Aerith giggled, and Tifa scowled.

"Hey! You can't eat him! I'm gonna eat him first!" I was laughing on the back, and Ryuu's face turned to horror.

"E… Eat me?" I stopped laughing, and my smile turned into a grin with my pearly teeth showing. Let the teasing begin…

"That's right! We are hungry, and we are going to eat your little feet first." He froze and then ran toward the living room, giggling as those tiny feet pattered against the wooden floor. All three of us looked at each other and then later laughed. Oh, I wish that Marlene and Denzel were here; they'd be playing the hide and seek with Ryuu, and we, the "hungry" sisters, would find them and tickle them. We put our bags and toys aside to make sure that we don't trip or rip anything open. The dress cost me my allowance, and I was lucky to find the sandals I wanted in a cheap price.

"Ready or not…" Tifa sang first.

"Here we come~!" Aerith finished, and they bounced slowly toward the suspecting Ryuu. I hope he knows how keep quiet as a ninja. I trained him how to be quiet in case of intruders or people he doesn't know. If he knows the person, he'll jump on them and hug. If not, he'll keep quiet unless my parents or I come around to save him or tell him to come out if it's safe.

"I shall prepare dinner." Chekhov announced and left me to my own devices. I look up to hear the girls cooing my baby brother out. Oh boy. I better go start finding him and tickle him…

_Ding, dong!_

God… DANG IT! Whoever has the balls to interrupt my happiness is going to lose them! Just when things are getting better, there is going to be something bad in the end! I'm gonna yank that door open and shove my foot up their ass so hard that they are not going to be the same person as-

"Evening, Miss Kisaragi."

…

Shit. It's Buttface.

"Um… hi?" Yeah. I'm not sure if I was surprised or rude, but when you have the sadistic, jerk-of-a-teacher neighbor greeting you at your house with that red-eyed stare like you are going to die today, then you can either be scared shitless or question his existence gracing the front of your door. Well… I'm more leaning toward being scared shitless because he was looking at me like I was in deep shit. Wait a minute… was he raising his eyebrow at me?

"Um… is there something you need?" I asked again, and the sounds of my baby brother screaming in joy and giggling echoed throughout the house. God dammit all. I was missing out the fun, and Buttface here just ruined my chance on playing with the kid.

"I received a call from Mr. Barret Wallace that he would be unable to retrieve Miss Gainsborough and my sister. Due to a job emergency, he is placing his responsibilities unto me."

So… let me get this straight.

Barret is basically in this emergency call from his job, and you have to drive Aerith and Tifa back to their houses right now. As in pronto.

"Exactly."

…

Tifa's gonna break my legs, but…

"TIFA! AERITH! Your ride is here, and it's not Mr. Wallace." I covered my ears and looked at Mr. Valentine with a smirk. Oh, he so does not know his sister more than I do. Brownie points for me~!

"WHAT!" I could feel the vibrations from the stampeding from upstairs and the shakes of Tifa's awesome screech. I moved out of the way from Tifa's line of running because no one should get in Tifa's way like the time Mother Nature visited her, and she wanted cheese omelet with ketchup on it. The last time, a sophomore was scared shitless because Tifa was breathing down his neck when he couldn't make up his own damn mind, and Aerith and I had to console him from the trauma. Poor kid. We actually had to give him a chocolate chip cookie to calm him down.

"Hello, Tifa. How was your day?" Oh boy. Sparks are flying in the entrance, and Tifa was using her death glare at her brother. Hey. I think they **are** related: similar hair color, similar eye color, and similar glare technique. No wonder I was getting the scary vibe from both Tifa and Mr. Valentine.

"How the hell- when did you- Yuffie! Please, tell me why is my brother here?" I blinked. Wow. I never see the day that Tifa broke in front of me. The only way to break Tifa's brain was to mention her boyfriend, and then she's in cloud nine. Aerith came down as well, but she had this worried expression. Probably, she's worried about her adoptive father. I think Ryuu is with Chekhov for the moment since there is tension in here. Therefore, I have to repeat what he said… in my own words of course.

"Barret couldn't come because he had an emergency call from his work, so your brother is here to drive you home." Tifa didn't seem very enthusiastic with the change of plans, and she was ready to fight tooth and nail just to stay here just to be a permanent residence. Kinda funny though. He's our next-door neighbor and her brother, and she could have stayed if she was a ghost. How come she hasn't thought of moving in with him?

"Great idea, Yuffie!"

…

Gods, I am such an idiot.

"I thought you hate his guts." I reminded her the reaction from the first day of school and today when I announced his existence. It's great and fun to have friends as neighbors, but I would usually wonder how bad it would be to have your best friend bug you twenty-four seven. Not that I was complaining, it's just that there will be stressful times that we would have to get together and spend our homework time to two o' clock and then sleep on five just to wake up with only two hours of sleep. Blame the last crazy sleepover a year ago. It was fun as hell, but still, it destroyed our brains.

"Well, I would have to adjust, do I?" Pensive as ever. I wonder if you and your brother share similar traits other than color image wise. I glance at Mr. Valentine for any thoughts for this, and he seemed thoughtful. Give him a narrowed glare, eyebrow scrunch, and the deepest frown on his face, and then you got yourself the annoyed, serious teacher in place.

"If you are going to live under my house, you are going to live under my rules." Oh yeah. He's technically an adult, and he can do anything that doesn't involve female students living under the same roof as him. Tifa is an exception; she's his sister. He's… what? Past twenty-one years old?

"I'm twenty-four. Thank you very much."

…

Note to self: Go see someone who can give you tips on not giving your thoughts away before you get shipped to the loony bin.

Wait…

He's eight years older than us? !

"Aw… I wanna live next to you guys, too." Aerith, you are the sweetest girl I know, but I don't know where did you get the ability to distract people's thoughts.

"Girl. If you and Tifa started _living_ next to me, we'd basically blow up the whole neighborhood with a multi-colored mushroom cloud that would put the X-bomb to shame." I replied which the responses were both girls laughing and Buttface looking _very_ confused. He hasn't lived long enough around this town to know the jokes from the beginning of our time, and I, now, have the upper hand to play around his mind.

"Cloud…" Oh god. There goes Tifa. I glance at Mr. Valentine to see his reaction to the sister dating a boy situation. Usually, older brothers tend to be like the dads and threaten the guys who are dating their sisters with promises of pain. I've seen those a few times, and the brothers give the death-glare to the guys. Interesting thing is that he doesn't glare or show any signs of aggression; well, I am guessing that they weren't that close since Tifa has a grudge against Mr. Valentine. I wonder why.

However, back to my response. I like to live alone with my baby brother in my own house, and there are times that I want peace and quiet. I really don't mind my friends living next to me, but because my dad is the ambassador, we always have constant protection twenty-four seven. The house is small enough to prevent any kidnappings, but there are times that security would come around everyday to see if there are any bombs or anything hazardous to neighbors and the family. I do not want anyone go kidnap him next door, and I do not want anything happen to my friends and family.

Sure, we can come over and go nuts with candy and lots of games, but I think having to wake up where all my friends and family are dead would break me to the core.

Besides, having two faces up-close, wide-eyed, and grinning friends reminded me of the scary movie doll I watched with Reno at night with the lights off. People. Do not watch a scary movie with one or two people at nighttime. Have four or five people with you with the lights on, or suffer night terrors where the doll doesn't freakin' die.

"Oh! Mr. Valentine! Yuffie has a request!" Aerith, you are going to make me cry here.

"Hm? Is that so?" Oh, god. Is there no hope for humanity? I glanced at Aerith who has the sweetest smile on her face and back to Mr. Valentine, and I know he's smiling inside. Outside, he doesn't have the smile and only has the raising eyebrow, but inside, he's probably laughing at my misery with the smuggest smirk in his face. I can tell; his eyes were shining.

"Well?" I internally sighed at my bad luck charm. This is it. My humiliation. I'm gonna die either through embarrassment or the future torture to blow up my brain.

"Um… you see…" Come on, Kisaragi. Get your shit together.

"U-Um… there's a rough draft due this Wednesday, right?"

"Correct." Sheesh. Being curt, aren't you? Let's see…

"Well, there's this chemistry project I have to work with a group, and I need to work on this project at least two days, meaning Friday and Saturday is already booked. Can you help me on Sunday instead to see if my rough draft needs work?"

"Of course…"

All right!

"…with certain conditions."

… **what.**

Probably, my mind hasn't connected the dots since the Pirithous episode and the stress of school, and I know that my brain is running out of steam. However, this isn't what I was expecting, and I am going to get a headache. When he mentioned conditions, I am expecting more torture from him through mind. I can imagine him laughing with lightning behind him and me chained and shivering on the floor. He'd probably make me reread my freshman work and rewrite twenty pages of pain, and I would have my hand cut and bruised and wearing a rag. Then again, this is the sadistic Mr. Valentine we are talking about.

"What are the conditions?" I was glaring. Yes. Glaring. With a capital "g". I know that I am going to get tortured, but I have ninja pride. There's no way I am going to break, and I _will_ break him and his stupid rules if they are going to be stupid.

"I will tell them later. Right now, I am a little late on escorting my sister and Miss Gainsborough back home. Come, Tifa." Tifa just glared at her brother. Oh boy.

"Tifa Hera Lockhart. You will go home with Aerith Psyche Gainsborough, and I will not tolerate your behavior."

… Wait. Say _**what!**_

I think my jaw dropped. Hearing my best friend's middle names just made me realize this was just plain nuts. Wow. We have the most creative nicknames from our parents, do we?

"Fine." Tifa growled and snatched her bags from the side. I glanced at Tifa and Aerith, and they seemed reluctant. Tifa's more of a protective reluctance, and Aerith was more in the worried reluctance. I wonder why.

"Don't worry, girls! You can come over again. Bring Denzel and Marlene, so they can play with Ryuu." That seemed to distract them, and Ryuu popped up behind Aerith. Just in time, too.

"Ti-shan and Ri-shan going home now?" Holy… crap. Did a tornado hit somewhere while being chased? I think we stared at Ryuu with a bit and laughed. Aw… he's giving me the biggest eyes I have ever seen.

"Yes. Ti-chan and Ri-chan has to go home now. It's dangerous to go alone after seven. Understand? Have me, mom, dad, or Chekhov to go with you. No matter what." Ryuu give us the biggest nod and tottered to me just to hug me. I think I died and went to heaven. He's the cutest baby since birth.

"Don't we get a goodbye hug?" Tifa. You suck.

" 'Kay!" Noooo! My moment! Tifa, I hope your brother gives you hell. He's my baby brother!

"Bye, Ti-shan! No sad. Ti-shan has lots of wove in here! Ti-shan not alone!"

… Wait. What?

I just blinked and watched Tifa's eyes widened. Ryuu squirmed for a bit, wanted to get down, and felt Tifa lowering him to the ground. He dashed to Aerith and hugged her by the legs.

"Ri-shan no sorry. Ri-shan try best, and be happy." I have no idea what was going on, even when Ryuu ran back to me and hug me. I don't remember saying my goodbyes to Tifa and Aerith, but I thought of my best friend's names.

First, how could Tifa, the sweetest and motherly person who basically can kick anyone's ass and who took care of me while I was sick, have a middle name coming from the most violent and most jealous goddess in the world? Shit! When my class went through Hera, she was a jealous bitch. I know that her husband did a lot of bad things, but she didn't have to stoop lower than him by wrecking all of the girl's lives. I swear, she was being punished for reacting badly, but it's her husband should be punished a hell lot more. Tifa should be named Hestia or Aphrodite, but there were problems. I think Hestia was a virgin goddess, and she didn't have any lovers. Aphrodite's a whore, and Tifa's not like that.

Still, I think there was a time she was ready to beat the crap out of the girls that were gathering around Cloud, and it took both Aerith and me to hold her back until Cloud came up to her and ask her to go with him. I am crossing my fingers that Cloud's middle name is not what I am thinking because he is not a whore, and I did stalk him for one week to see if he was cheating on Tifa. Not once he met any girl and go bang her.

Second, Aerith's middle name reminded me of that short myth from my eight-grade class. Her name derived from a girl who thought her lover was a dragon and burned him, and she regretted making her lover leave in distrust. I don't remember anything else, but it has to do something about Valentine's Day.

I internally snorted. Buttface's last name is the same name as the day of romance, and the same day that Pirithous and I broke up. It hurt like hell, and I cried with much anger and sadness. However, something told me that this wasn't the end, and I didn't need him. I don't know. I was in a middle of wallowing myself in self-pity, but I think someone around me was trying to comfort me. I think it was either my grandparents or my childhood friend who died when I was young, but it was soothing that I actually fell asleep.

Before I can think further, one low-pitched and louder growl synced with a high-pitched and softer growl.

...

"Yu-shan. Ryuu hungry."

... I'll see how's Chekhov doing.

* * *

><p>I think this evening went by fast. My baby brother and I ate Chekhov's dinner; we decided to turn in early since school starts tomorrow. Chekhov tucked in my brother to bed, and I had a few last minutes finish up before I went to bed. I slipped into my white tank top and black loose shorts I found in my wardrobe, and I was packing up my homework into my book bag until I felt a nudge on my arm. I looked up and saw Red… with a letter in his mouth.<p>

"What's that Red?" I took the letter out of his mouth and examined it. Ew… dog drool.

"Uh… thanks, boy." I flicked the saliva off the letter and opened it carefully.

Buttface sent this letter. I wondered why and read.

_Dear Yuffie Persephone Kisaragi _(Fuck you, Buttface!),

_I hope that you have enjoyed your evening during this stressful time, _(No shit, Sherlock.)

… _and I have successfully escorted both my sister and Aerith Gainsborough back home safely. Now, since I have agreed on tutoring you on Sundays, there are conditions that you would agree to. They are not to be broken through any costs. _(It better be good; the alternative is breaking them like dishes.)

_One) There will be no music. It is distracting. _(Then, I will hum in my head while doing homework.)

_Two) There will be no phone calls or text messaging to anyone unless there is an emergency. _(Wait. You're ripping this off the syllabus, aren't you!)

_Three) There will be no sleeping during my lectures. The punishment will be the reduction of both free time and break time._ (Jackass. Sure. Take my playtime away from my brother, you heartless bastard.)

_Four) There will be no pranks/mischievous acts/joking during tutoring. _(Damn. There goes my plan.)

_Five) There will be no outside distractions. Failure to oblige to this will result to extension to tutoring days. _(I just signed my death warrant, didn't I?)

_Following these conditions will guarantee your protection and your freedom away from your ex-boyfriend. That is all._

_Vincent Valentine_

Ah… okay. That sentence is easier than it sounds.

…

… Wait. _WHAT?_

How the hell does he know that I need him to keep Pirithous away from me?


End file.
